Old English Period (500-1100)
Society
• Foreign invasions and internal struggles > several races, tongues (talen) and cultures
• The fifth century also saw conquests and the gradual (geleidelijk) occupation by Germanic tribes
• At the end of the sixth century Christianity was accepted > this gave rise to religious writing
• At the end of the eighth century the Vikings invaded the country
• William’s victory over Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 led to the Norman Conquest and
occupation of England = end OEP
Language
• The language of the whole first period is known als Old English.
• Most Old English words were Germanic, Latin also had a strong influence on early English. By the
end of the Old English period many French words became part of the English language, giving rise
to Middle English.
Poetic devices
• The Old English language knew an oral tradition (orally transmitted)
• The tales about heroes, kings, fights, honor and glory were passed on from generation to generation.
Mostly they were sung by minstrels.
• Poems mostly about war, death, glory, loyalty, immortality*
*Characteristics of Old English poetry:
• No rhyme
• No fixed rhythmical patterns
• Use of formulas (once upon a time)
• Use of kennings (noun replaced by figurative description)
• Each line is divided into two half lines, comma, a tick, or two lines
• Alliteration (words in a line beginning with the same sound)
Authors
• Almost all Old English literature/poetry is anonymous, motor exceptions in poetry are Bede (a monk
translated the Bible into English) and King Alfred (king of West Saxons, conqueror of the Vikings,
translated Bede’s Historia from Latin to English)
• Oral-formulaic Theory > conservative, from place to place, to originate in an oral tradition reaching
back into the mists of time
Literary works
• Old English poetry included long heroic poems called ‘epics’, which drew on the Bible as well as on
pagan sources for their content.
• Beowulf is the best-known and best-preserved Old English verse
Beowulf
• Epic poem: a long narrative poem about a single hero, who is first victorious but dies in the end and
becomes immortal.
• Is manuscript (based on oral tradition) > Originele schrijver onbekend > later verhaal opgeschreven
door een monnik
• Only epic from the time that has been preserved as a whole
• The work glorifies a hero and the values of bravery and generosity
• The story is set in Scandinavia
, Middle English Period (1100-1500)
Society
• The Norman invasion of England led to the defeat and replacement of the elite with nobles and their
supporters.
• William the Conqueror and his successors took over the existing state system.
• The new rulers introduced a feudal (feodaal) approach to governing England, eradicating (uitroeien)
the practice of slavery but creating a much wider body of unfree laborers called serfs (horigen/
lijfeigenen).
• A new wave of monasteries (kloosters) and friaries (broeders/monniken?) were established
(gevestigd), while ecclesiastical (kerkelijk) reforms led to tensions between successive kings and
archbishops.
• Despite developments in England’s governance and legal system, infighting between the Anglo-
Norman elite resulted in multiple civil wars and the loss of Normandy.
• Great Famine (grote hongersnood) and the Black Death, catastrophic events that killed around half
of England’s population > chaos in the economy and undermining the old political orders > social
unrest > many men and women sought new opportunities in the towns and cities.
• New technologies were introduced.
• English kings laid claim to the French throne > Hundred Years’ War
• At times England enjoyed huge military succes, with the economy buoyed by profits from the
international wool and cloth trade, but by 1450 the country was in crisis, facing military failure in
France and an ongoing recession > more social unrest
Language
• Middle English saw significant changes due to Norman domination and the prestige that came with
writing in French rather than English.
• Common people spoke Middle English dialect, the nobility spoke French and the clergy used
Latin.
• De meer gestandaardiseerde Oud-Engelse taal raakte gefragmenteerd, gelokaliseerd en werd
geïmproviseerd.
• By the end of the period a standard based on the London dialect had become established.
Poetic devices
• Thanks to Norman invasion, poetry was also highly influenced by the French traditions.
• The introduction of rhythm.
• Middle English poets began employing rhyme. The Ballade is an example of this with a strict
ababbcbc rhyme scheme.
• The themes used in Middle English also started to shift from war and death (old English) to the more
Renaissance themes of romance, tales of love and adventure.
• Life on earth itself is becoming more and more important.
• A hero now is a knight who is courageous and strong, but also worships a woman; courtly love =
the love of a knight for a lady > lady ignores him and is disdainful (minachtend), knight proceeds
noble deeds and keeps his love a secret while he suffers in silence of his heartache, the lady is often
married.
• After the Norman Conquest the poetic form changed > the alliterative (alliteratie) lines were replaced
by the French type poetry; end-rhyme and fixed syllable patterns (eindrijm en vaste lettergreep
patronen)
Old English > Middle English:
The form changed; alliteration was replaced by end-rhyme and fixed syllable patterns.
The subject changed; from war and death to courtly love.
Authors
• Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the unfinished work The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer’s family was of the
bourgeois (burgerlijk) class. He joined the Royal Service, traveling throughout France, Spain and Italy
on diplomatic missions. After he was married he went abroad and spent time familiarizing himself
with the work of Italian poets Dante and Petrarch. The next years he worked as a justice of the
peace and later a Parliament member, rather than focusing on his writing. He lived in de MEP but
had Renaissance ideas.
• Lived in de Middle Ages and wrote about life on earth and described individuals = characteristic of
the Renaissance.
Society
• Foreign invasions and internal struggles > several races, tongues (talen) and cultures
• The fifth century also saw conquests and the gradual (geleidelijk) occupation by Germanic tribes
• At the end of the sixth century Christianity was accepted > this gave rise to religious writing
• At the end of the eighth century the Vikings invaded the country
• William’s victory over Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 led to the Norman Conquest and
occupation of England = end OEP
Language
• The language of the whole first period is known als Old English.
• Most Old English words were Germanic, Latin also had a strong influence on early English. By the
end of the Old English period many French words became part of the English language, giving rise
to Middle English.
Poetic devices
• The Old English language knew an oral tradition (orally transmitted)
• The tales about heroes, kings, fights, honor and glory were passed on from generation to generation.
Mostly they were sung by minstrels.
• Poems mostly about war, death, glory, loyalty, immortality*
*Characteristics of Old English poetry:
• No rhyme
• No fixed rhythmical patterns
• Use of formulas (once upon a time)
• Use of kennings (noun replaced by figurative description)
• Each line is divided into two half lines, comma, a tick, or two lines
• Alliteration (words in a line beginning with the same sound)
Authors
• Almost all Old English literature/poetry is anonymous, motor exceptions in poetry are Bede (a monk
translated the Bible into English) and King Alfred (king of West Saxons, conqueror of the Vikings,
translated Bede’s Historia from Latin to English)
• Oral-formulaic Theory > conservative, from place to place, to originate in an oral tradition reaching
back into the mists of time
Literary works
• Old English poetry included long heroic poems called ‘epics’, which drew on the Bible as well as on
pagan sources for their content.
• Beowulf is the best-known and best-preserved Old English verse
Beowulf
• Epic poem: a long narrative poem about a single hero, who is first victorious but dies in the end and
becomes immortal.
• Is manuscript (based on oral tradition) > Originele schrijver onbekend > later verhaal opgeschreven
door een monnik
• Only epic from the time that has been preserved as a whole
• The work glorifies a hero and the values of bravery and generosity
• The story is set in Scandinavia
, Middle English Period (1100-1500)
Society
• The Norman invasion of England led to the defeat and replacement of the elite with nobles and their
supporters.
• William the Conqueror and his successors took over the existing state system.
• The new rulers introduced a feudal (feodaal) approach to governing England, eradicating (uitroeien)
the practice of slavery but creating a much wider body of unfree laborers called serfs (horigen/
lijfeigenen).
• A new wave of monasteries (kloosters) and friaries (broeders/monniken?) were established
(gevestigd), while ecclesiastical (kerkelijk) reforms led to tensions between successive kings and
archbishops.
• Despite developments in England’s governance and legal system, infighting between the Anglo-
Norman elite resulted in multiple civil wars and the loss of Normandy.
• Great Famine (grote hongersnood) and the Black Death, catastrophic events that killed around half
of England’s population > chaos in the economy and undermining the old political orders > social
unrest > many men and women sought new opportunities in the towns and cities.
• New technologies were introduced.
• English kings laid claim to the French throne > Hundred Years’ War
• At times England enjoyed huge military succes, with the economy buoyed by profits from the
international wool and cloth trade, but by 1450 the country was in crisis, facing military failure in
France and an ongoing recession > more social unrest
Language
• Middle English saw significant changes due to Norman domination and the prestige that came with
writing in French rather than English.
• Common people spoke Middle English dialect, the nobility spoke French and the clergy used
Latin.
• De meer gestandaardiseerde Oud-Engelse taal raakte gefragmenteerd, gelokaliseerd en werd
geïmproviseerd.
• By the end of the period a standard based on the London dialect had become established.
Poetic devices
• Thanks to Norman invasion, poetry was also highly influenced by the French traditions.
• The introduction of rhythm.
• Middle English poets began employing rhyme. The Ballade is an example of this with a strict
ababbcbc rhyme scheme.
• The themes used in Middle English also started to shift from war and death (old English) to the more
Renaissance themes of romance, tales of love and adventure.
• Life on earth itself is becoming more and more important.
• A hero now is a knight who is courageous and strong, but also worships a woman; courtly love =
the love of a knight for a lady > lady ignores him and is disdainful (minachtend), knight proceeds
noble deeds and keeps his love a secret while he suffers in silence of his heartache, the lady is often
married.
• After the Norman Conquest the poetic form changed > the alliterative (alliteratie) lines were replaced
by the French type poetry; end-rhyme and fixed syllable patterns (eindrijm en vaste lettergreep
patronen)
Old English > Middle English:
The form changed; alliteration was replaced by end-rhyme and fixed syllable patterns.
The subject changed; from war and death to courtly love.
Authors
• Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the unfinished work The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer’s family was of the
bourgeois (burgerlijk) class. He joined the Royal Service, traveling throughout France, Spain and Italy
on diplomatic missions. After he was married he went abroad and spent time familiarizing himself
with the work of Italian poets Dante and Petrarch. The next years he worked as a justice of the
peace and later a Parliament member, rather than focusing on his writing. He lived in de MEP but
had Renaissance ideas.
• Lived in de Middle Ages and wrote about life on earth and described individuals = characteristic of
the Renaissance.
